Method and apparatus for a radio frequency identification repeater which is coupled to a radio frequency identification tag

ABSTRACT

The present method enables an RFID repeater to be used in conjunction with an RFID tag to allow data in the RFID tag to be read using wireless packet switched technologies. For example, the present method enables an RFID repeater to be coupled with an RFID tag. The RFID repeater reads and records the data from the RFID tag and then transmits the retrieved data from the RFID tag over a wireless packet network.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/818,375, filed Jun. 18, 2010, which is currently allowed and is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/618,889, filed Dec.31, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,741,970, all of which are incorporatedherein by reference in their entirety.

The present invention relates generally to Radio FrequencyIdentification (RFID) and, more particularly, to a method and apparatusfor an RFID repeater in a wireless packet switched network.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In an existing RFID network, an RFID tag is read by an RFID reader viaan RFID reader antenna. The RFID tag must be in close proximity to theRFID reader antenna to retrieve data from the RFID tag, particularly ifthe RFID tag is passive (does not have a self-contained battery).However, if the RFID tag physically moves around in a large area, thetracking of the RFID potentially requires that a large number of RFIDantennas be deployed in all the areas that the RFID tag traverses. Thespecialized RFID infrastructure that needs to be deployed in a largescale can be very expensive. If an RFID tag can be read using otherexisting wireless technologies, such as Wi-Fi, UWB, Zigbee, or cellular,the cost of deploying specialized RFID infrastructure can besubstantially minimized.

Therefore, a need exists for a method and apparatus for providing anRFID repeater in a wireless packet switched network.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, the present invention enables an RFID repeater to beused in conjunction with an RFID tag to allow data in the RFID tag to beread using wireless packet switched technologies. For example, thepresent method enables an RFID repeater to be coupled with an RFID tag.The RFID repeater reads and records the data from the RFID tag and thentransmits the retrieved data from the RFID tag over a wireless packetnetwork.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The teaching of the present invention can be readily understood byconsidering the following detailed description in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary RFID repeater and associated wirelessnetworks of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart of a method for installing an RFIDrepeater in a wireless packet network of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 illustrates a high level block diagram of a general purposecomputer suitable for use in performing the functions described herein.

To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have beenused, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common tothe figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As discussed above, if an RFID tag physically moves around in a largearea, the tracking of the RFID potentially requires a large number ofRFID antennas and readers to be deployed in all the areas that the RFIDtag traverses. The specialized RFID infrastructure that needs to bedeployed in a large scale can be very expensive. If an RFID tag can beread using other existing wireless technologies, such as anEthernet-like wireless Local Area Network such as IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), aPersonal Area Network such as UWB or Zigbee, a Metropolitan Area Networksuch as IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), or cellular Wide-Area Network, the cost ofdeploying specialized RFID infrastructure can be minimized.

To address this criticality, the present invention enables an RFIDrepeater to be used in conjunction with an RFID tag to allow data in theRFID tag to be read using existing wireless packet switchedtechnologies. In one embodiment, the present invention enables an RFIDrepeater to be installed over an RFID tag using a standard fasteningmaterial such as hook-and-loop fasteners (also known by the tradename,“Velcro” of Velcro Industries of the Netherlands). The RFID repeaterreads and records the data from the RFID tag and then transmits theretrieved data from the RFID tag over standard wireless packet networkincluding, but not limited to, wireless Personal Area Network, LocalArea Network, Metropolitan Area Network, and Wide-Area cellular networkair interfaces.

It should be noted that Wi-Fi refers to the underlying technology ofwireless local area networks (WLAN) based on the IEEE 802.11 standard.UWB refers to a technology for transmitting information spread over alarge bandwidth, such as larger than 500 MHz, which enables spectrumsharing among multiple users. Zigbee refers to a specification for asuite of high level communication protocols using small, low powerdigital radios based on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard for wireless personalarea networks (WPAN). WiMAX refers to networks based on the IEEE 802.16Metropolitan Area Network standard. Cellular refers to a radio networkmade up of a number of radio cells where each radio cell is served by acell site or base station.

In one embodiment, the RFID repeater comprises a short range reader aswell as a radio frequency modem device, which can further be used toprovide identification, location, light, temperature, humidity, audio,and biological data. Once it has read the RFID tag to which it isattached, the embedded reader in the RFID repeater records the RFID tagdata to conserve power and to avoid collisions from other RFID tags. Itusually does not have to read the tag again, but can be commandedremotely to do so to verify that the repeater is still attached to itsassociated RFID tag, for example. The physical architecture locks theRFID tag in close and readable proximity to the RFID repeater, thusassociating both the RFID and repeater with a reference object, such asa package, an object, or a person to be tracked. The present inventioncreates an integrated platform to extend the availability of RFID tagdata to be used for additional applications, such as real time assettracking and work flow management via standard wireless technologies.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary RFID repeater and the associatedwireless networks of the present invention. In FIG. 1, RFID tag 120,comprising an antenna 121 and a RFID circuit 122, is attached to anobject (or an individual) 101 that is to be tracked by location and datacollection server 135. In one embodiment, RFID tag 120 and RFID repeater110 are adhered to each other using an adhesive material 102. Thus, theRFID repeater 110 can be selectively attached or detached from the RFIDtag 120. The ability of the RFID repeater to be selectively attached toan RFID tag allows a particular object or individual to be tracked. Forexample, there may be a need to more closely track an elderly person ora young child in a medical facility. As such, RFID tags 120 that areprovided to the elderly person or a young child will further contain theRFID repeaters 110, whereas other patients in the medical facility willonly have the RFID tags 120. Note that RFID tag 120 can be a passive oran active RFID tag.

In one embodiment, RFID repeater 110 comprises an antenna 111 (e.g., afirst antenna), a low power RFID reader 112, an active RF modem 113,antenna 114 (e.g., a second antenna), a battery 115, and a memory 116.RFID repeater 110 is powered by the battery 115. If the RFID tag 120 isa passive tag, antenna 111 and antenna 121 are used to provide power andsignal transfer between RFID tag 120 and RFID repeater 110. Inparticular, low power RFID reader 112 can use antenna 111 to send power(e.g., a signal) to RFID 120 via antenna 121 and retrieve the dataembedded in RFID circuit 122 to be stored in the memory 116 of the RFIDrepeater 110. Once the data embedded in the RFID tag 120 has been readby the RFID reader 112, RFID 112 is deactivated to conserve the power ofbattery 115. The data retrieved from RFID tag 120 can then becommunicated to location and data collection server 135 using active RFmodem 113 via standard wireless packet protocols. For example, active RFmodem 113 in RFID repeater 110 may use antenna 114 to communicate withaccess points 131, 132, and 133 via wireless links 141, 142, and 143respectively.

For example, if the RFID repeater is in an area covered by access point131, wireless link 141 is used to provide wireless access between RFIDrepeater 110 and access point 131. If the RFID repeater is in an areacovered by access point 132, wireless link 142 is used to providewireless access between RFID repeater 110 and access point 132. If theRFID repeater is in an area covered by access point 133, wireless link143 is used to provide wireless access between RFID repeater 110 andaccess point 133. It is also possible that the RFID repeater may beheard by more than one access point, allowing location detection moreprecise than could be provided if only one access point can receive thesignal. Those skilled in the art will recognize that several methods canbe used to provide improved location determination using a plurality ofaccess points to interact with the repeater.

Note further that, access points 131, 132, and 133 are connected toLocal Area Network (LAN) 134 which in turn is connected to the locationand data collection server 135. LAN 134 can employ wired or wireless LANtechnologies. Data read from memory 116 residing in RFID repeater 110,via active RF modem 113 and antenna 114, is communicated to location anddata collection server 135 using flows 151, 152, or 153 depending on theactual location of RFID repeater 110. The wireless packet accessprotocols used between RFID repeater 110 and the access points include,but are not limited to, UWB, Zigbee, Wi-Fi, and cellular protocols. Inaddition to providing data retrieved from RFID 120, RFID repeater 110can provide additional data including, but not limited to,identification, location, light, temperature, humidity, audio, andbiological data.

FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart of a method for installing an RFIDrepeater in a wireless packet network of the present invention. Method200 starts in step 205 and proceeds to step 210.

In step 210, the method attaches an RFID repeater to an RFID tag, whichis to be tracked. The RFID tag can be a passive or an active tag. Forexample, the RFID repeater is attached to the RFID using an adhesivematerial such as Velcro or other appropriate adhesive medium.

In step 220, the method retrieves the data embedded in the RFID tag tothe RFID repeater using an intermittently-activated low power RFIDreader. If the RFID tag is a passive tag, the RFID repeater powers theRFID tag (e.g., via a communication signal) via the antennae arrangementof the two attached devices. The data read by the RFID repeater isstored in the RFID repeater for later use.

In step 230, the method deactivates the low power RFID reader embeddedin the RFID repeater to conserve battery power in the RFID repeater.

In step 240, the method initiates communications of the retrieved RFIDtag data between the RFID repeater and the location and data collectionserver using standard wireless packet access protocols via a wirelessaccess point or base station. Once the communication has been initiated,the RFID repeater is tracked wirelessly via various wireless accesspoints including, but not limited to, UWB, Zigbee, Wi-Fi, cellular etc.The method ends in step 250.

FIG. 3 depicts a high level block diagram of a general purpose computersuitable for use in performing the functions described herein. Asdepicted in FIG. 3, the system 300 comprises a processor element 302(e.g., a CPU), a memory 304, e.g., random access memory (RAM) and/orread only memory (ROM), a module 305 for providing an RFID repeater, andvarious input/output devices 306 (e.g., storage devices, including butnot limited to, a tape drive, a floppy drive, a hard disk drive or acompact disk drive, a receiver, a transmitter, a speaker, a display, aspeech synthesizer, an output port, and a user input device (such as akeyboard, a keypad, a mouse, and the like)).

It should be noted that the present invention can be implemented insoftware and/or in a combination of software and hardware, e.g., usingapplication specific integrated circuits (ASIC), a general purposecomputer or any other hardware equivalents. In one embodiment, thepresent module or process 305 for providing an RFID repeater can beloaded into memory 304 and executed by processor 302 to implement thefunctions as discussed above. As such, the present process 305 forproviding an RFID repeater (including associated data structures) of thepresent invention can be stored on a computer readable medium orcarrier, e.g., RAM memory, magnetic or optical drive or diskette and thelike.

While various embodiments have been described above, it should beunderstood that they have been presented by way of example only, and notlimitation. Thus, the breadth and scope of a preferred embodiment shouldnot be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, butshould be defined only in accordance with the following claims and theirequivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for communicating with a radio frequencyidentification tag, the method comprising: retrieving data from theradio frequency identification tag by a radio frequency identificationrepeater, wherein the radio frequency identification repeater is coupledto the radio frequency identification tag, wherein the retrievingcomprises: reading the data by a radio frequency identification readerresiding in the radio frequency identification repeater; and storing thedata in a memory residing in the radio frequency identificationrepeater; and communicating the data that is retrieved from the radiofrequency identification tag by the radio frequency identificationrepeater to a server via a wireless packet switched network.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the wireless packet switched network employsat least one of: a wireless fidelity protocol, an ultra widebandprotocol, a cellular protocol, or a Zigbee® protocol.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the data that is retrieved is read via a pair ofantennae between the radio frequency identification repeater and theradio frequency identification tag.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereinthe reading of the data from the radio frequency identification tag bythe radio frequency identification reader is commanded remotely torefresh the data stored in the memory of the radio frequencyidentification repeater.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the radiofrequency identification tag comprises an active radio frequencyidentification tag or a passive radio frequency identification tag. 6.The method of claim 1, wherein the communicating comprises: sending thedata that is retrieved to the server via a wireless access point or abase station that provides a connectivity to the server.
 7. The methodof claim 6, wherein the connectivity comprises a wired local areanetwork or a wireless local area network.
 8. A communication system,comprising: a radio frequency identification tag; and a radio frequencyidentification repeater for retrieving data from the radio frequencyidentification tag, wherein the radio frequency identification repeateris coupled to the radio frequency identification tag, wherein the radiofrequency identification repeater is for communicating the data that isretrieved from the radio frequency identification tag to a server via awireless packet switched network, wherein the radio frequencyidentification repeater comprises a radio frequency identificationreader for reading the data from the radio frequency identification tag,and wherein the data is stored in a memory residing in the radiofrequency identification repeater.
 9. The communication system of claim8, wherein the wireless packet switched network employs at least one of:a wireless fidelity protocol, an ultra wideband protocol, a cellularprotocol, or a Zigbee® protocol.
 10. The communication system of claim8, wherein the data that is retrieved is read via an antenna disposed onthe radio frequency identification repeater and an antenna disposed onthe radio frequency identification tag.
 11. The communication system ofclaim 8, wherein the retrieving of the data from the radio frequencyidentification tag by the radio frequency identification reader iscommanded remotely to refresh the data stored in the memory of the radiofrequency identification repeater.
 12. The communication system of claim8, wherein the radio frequency identification tag comprises an activeradio frequency identification tag or a passive radio frequencyidentification tag.
 13. The communication system of claim 8, wherein theradio frequency identification repeater communicates the data that isretrieved by sending the data that is retrieved to the server via awireless access point or a base station that provides a connectivity tothe server.
 14. The communication system of claim 13, wherein theconnectivity comprises a wired local area network or a wireless localarea network.
 15. A tangible computer-readable medium storinginstructions which, when executed by a processor of a radio frequencyidentification repeater, cause the processor to perform operations forcommunicating with a radio frequency identification tag, the operationscomprising: retrieving data from the radio frequency identification tagby the radio frequency identification repeater, wherein the radiofrequency identification repeater is coupled to the radio frequencyidentification tag, wherein the retrieving comprises: reading the databy a radio frequency identification reader residing in the radiofrequency identification repeater; and storing the data in a memoryresiding in the radio frequency identification repeater; andcommunicating the data that is retrieved from the radio frequencyidentification tag by the radio frequency identification repeater to aserver via a wireless packet switched network.
 16. The tangiblecomputer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the wireless packetswitched network employs at least one of: a wireless fidelity protocol,an ultra wideband protocol, a cellular protocol, or a Zigbee® protocol.17. The tangible computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the datathat is retrieved is read via a pair of antennae between the radiofrequency identification repeater and the radio frequency identificationtag.
 18. The tangible computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein thereading of the data from the radio frequency identification tag by theradio frequency identification reader is commanded remotely to refreshthe data stored in the memory of the radio frequency identificationrepeater.
 19. The tangible computer-readable medium of claim 15, whereinthe radio frequency identification tag comprises an active radiofrequency identification tag or a passive radio frequency identificationtag.
 20. The tangible computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein thecommunicating comprises: sending the data that is retrieved to theserver via a wireless access point or a base station that provides aconnectivity to the server.